Singapore’s two casinos have implemented new measures to promote responsible gambling (S’pore casinos use technology to let gamblers set limits and reminders to stop, Nov 6).

Although the Ministry of Social and Family Development has implemented policies like exclusion orders and casino visit limits, the gambling participation rate in the overall population has remained steady at around 50 per cent since 2005.

The introduction of new gambling limitation measures is much needed to reduce this rate. A high rate of gambling participation can lead to a higher rate of gambling addiction.

More addicted gamblers would lead to an increase in individuals with financial issues, leading to fractured families. The overall monetary benefit of gambling to our economy would hence be unlikely to outweigh the social cost of it.

If the new measures introduced fail to reduce the rate of gambling participation, perhaps the Government needs to look at other deterrents like raising the casino entry fee once again, which has worked before.

Stanley Heok Jun Jie, 21

Year 1 undergraduate